I’ve been asked a few times over the years, as a sewist and a mother, what advice I have for sewing Tween/Teen patterns for female-gendered bodies.
For many of us, the gateway to sewing was creating something simple. Making that pillowcase, simple elastic-waist skirt, doll dress, or baby shirt is such a satisfying win, we keep going. We slowly put more punches in our “sewing skill card.” The thing that the pillowcase, simple skirt, doll dress, or baby shirt all have in common? You’re basically fitting a tube.
Fitting a tube is pretty easy, right? There are no full-bust-adjustments, no forward shoulders, no crotch curves. Later we graduate to more complicated patterns for ourselves, such as princess seams and invisible zippers, but what do we do for those in the middle? Specifically, our tween/teen biologically-female-bodies? There aren’t a ton of tween/teen specific patterns.
Big 4 puts a few Tween/Teen sizes out here and there if you’re in the USA, but if you’ve been sewing awhile, you’ll know they don’t stay in print for very long, and the results can be hit & miss. Not to be negative, but a lot of Tween/Teen model examples I see are still very “tube shaped” – like a graded-up toddler suit.
Burda has a few options, Megan Nielsen goes up to size 12, as does Chalk & Notch, and Jalie puts sizes from child to women’s sizes in the same pattern. I’ve tried Jalie with varying results in the past, but I’d be willing to give it another go for the pure economy of having to buy something only once. There are others out there, but today we’re going to focus on that last bit: the economy part of it. Tween/Teen happens for a few short years, and in those years, there are some pivotal changes. What works for ages 10/11/12 doesn’t work for 15/16/17.
ten year old girl in pink t-shirt 
10 year old girl in red gingham dress 
mother and daughter in matching floral tank tops 
ten year old girl in red gingham dress
My daughter Hazel has agreed we could use her as an example for this article, and here she is above at age 10. I did a lot of experimentation. She was already over 5 feet tall. I tried a lot of the “grading between sizes” trick back then, which I almost never advise to do now. There was a Jalie swimsuit… it worked for the toddler, but not so much for the Tween, and my adult version didn’t ever see the light of day. Shown above is Hazel in her Colette Laurel dress, on which I should really have made a small bust adjustment, and I would now advise to remove the dart at this stage of Tweendom. Instead all I did was grade in/out based on size measurements on the envelope. Same with the Colette Sorbetto (original pattern release, not updated version.) The t-shirt was a basic unisex craft store shirt I modified. It shows her shape at the time pretty well, so you can see what I was trying to fit. While these were noble efforts, they didn’t quite work as one might hope.
girl, age 15, tie-dye outfit 
girl, age 15, tie-dye outfit 
girl, age 15, black pants, blue shirt 
Girl, age 15, in black pants and blue shirt
This is Hazel, age 15. She’s now 5 feet and 7 inches tall. She’s also spent 8 years in Brazilian Jujitsu and is on the rowing team. She’s muscular and prefers a somewhat androgynous look, although she does identify female at this time. So, in just 5 years, she has again completely changed physically and in preferred style, and I expect before another 5 years are up, she’ll change again.
The point is, it’s not really economical to keep buying patterns every 5 years in addition to your own patterns, and first up we’ll focus on patterns you may want to try, and I encourage you to add your own to the comments so we can have a resource for others in the same boat.
First. Elastic pants. Hazel LOVES the Sew House 7 Free Range Slacks, and you could likely get the same effect from the Arenite, the Pietra, or the many others in the same realm. Bonus: I got Hazel to sew both her pairs. Elastic and stretchy pants will do a few things: they’re move with trends with a simple change of fabric, they’re modular on the body and can navigate the changing landscape, and lastly, they’re still kids. Pants are a good bet for gym classes, random stair-rail-sliding, and getting shoved into a mud puddle on the way home by their brother… twice.
I’d also look into True Bias Hudson pants for women. Hazel has a pair of True Bias Landers she really likes as well. True Bias only has about an 8 inch difference between their waist and hip measurements, as opposed to the usual 10 inch difference, so using patterns drafted at a lower hip/waist ratio change may prove to work out better for your Tween/Teen.
Another really good starting point may be men’s/boys’ patterns. Yeah. I know. The raglan t-shirt is the Thread Theory Sayward raglan and I made zero adjustments. If your kid has the ramrod-straight shoulders still, but isn’t super busty or curvy, try some Thread Theory. We made this men’s pattern 100% Hazel with some sparkly fabric on the arms. The fabric can really change the look!
Now, on the other end of the spectrum, there are some girls that develop more of a bust or curves, and you’ll want patterns in the other direction. Deer & Doe is known for her “pear” shaped bottoms, as is the old standby of Sewholic patterns. I love Pipe Dream Patterns as they start at a C/D cup, but if you’re sewing for a Tween/Teen, you have the added bonus that Pipe Dream Patterns generally have the bust sitting up pretty high — I often drop the bust in her patterns about an inch for my more ‘mature’ body. Itch to Stitch has optional cup sizes with the bust points drafted pretty high up in my experience. Again, having the bust set high on a pattern generally works to your advantage when sewing for Tweens/Teens. In Part 2 of this series, we’ll delve a bit more into bust point and how to maybe decrease the accentuation of developing girls so they feel more comfortable.
I’ve been a Seamwork member since the start, and find them to be economical way to pad the pattern stash and easy to adjust. The tie-dye tank in the mock body suit above is the Seamwork Gretta tank pattern.
And lastly, I’m going to do a plug here for Small Bobbins and her Free Bralette pattern review YouTube series. She has left no detail left unturned. If you’re looking to whip up some bralettes for your Tween/Teen and need to know the least frustrating options out there, she’s going to know all the details.
In the next post, which will go live next Friday (a week from today), we’ll get into a few bust pattern adjustments you can make to your adult patterns, complete with diagrams. Please, add below, all your favorite Tween/Teen resources and patterns to share. What about knitting Tween/Teen resources?
Author & Editor Becky Jo can be found on Instagram.
I have a tiny tween (she’s almost 12). Finding patterns for her can be challenging. She’s too small to fit in women’s patterns (and not yet curvy enough) but kids’ patterns are too childish for her tastes. I’ve found Jalie patterns to be perfect for us. The size range means that I can make clothes for me, her, and her little sister from a single pattern. Definitely good value! And she likes the styles, especially the Simone wide leg pants and shorts.
You’re right, for pure economy, Jalie is really one of the best!
Great post! I definitely see some of my students struggle with this – female-identifying students who don’t want to be evaluated by their biological changes, male-identifying students who can’t find tees with sequins in their size. (And separately, those kids who wear shorts all winter. I know that’s not a RTW vs. sewing thing, it just boggles my mind! Tweens, geez!)
My male teen is in the shorts-all-the-time stage regardless of how low the temp goes! He left this morning, at less that 40 Fahrenheit, with his coat tied around his waist. I just have to let him do his thing.
‘Thornberry’ has two young daughters who she sews for regularly. (Lucky girls!) She offers lots of insight into altering and adapting adult patterns, as well as using patterns specifically designed for tweens & teens. (Thornberry is unbelievably prolific, so there are LOTS of reviews for both women and girls.)
oh, I have not heard of this – thanks!
Knippie (NL) has special issues with Tween models while the main magazine mostly caters to toddlers and grammar school kids. Like most EU pattern magazines, you have to trace the patterns and they do not include seam allowances. Burdastyle has some but they are few and far between. Poppy (BE) goes up to 176cm height. Here is the page with flip-through videos: http://bypoppy.eu/magazine/
I used to get Ottobre – they are like that too. You have to trace off & add seam allowance. I loved them when my kids still fit in their sizes… it’s more economical for the elementary ages in my opinion. Hazel aged out of their sizes before the 10 year old shots above. My children are not small LOL
If your kids aren’t small the teen editions of Knippie might be a good bet actually, because it’s a Dutch magazine and Dutch people known to be tall :). I don’t have kids so I’m not sure about that area, but from the women’s magazine I know they draft for 172cm, which is 4cm taller than Burda does!
Thanks for that helpful analysis of brands and body types! My girlfriend is much older but very much like shaped your cute Hazel, so I am off to get one of those raglan patterns for her. Thank you Hazel too for being such a good model and willing to discuss your tastes. I was a teenage sewing tomboy, and found it very liberating also not to be confined to what was expected of girls
you know what’s funny, the diagrams I’m adapting, I used for my Seamwork article on post-mastectomy alterations, and are generally used when the bust-waist-ratio is not “standard” or fitting in the averages. In other words, very common alterations, right? I altered the Thread Theory men’s vest for me – granted I’m more hour-glass shaped so had to do the reverse alterations, but I’m quite pleased with their quality all around. I wasn’t thrilled with being “pretty” or “girly” at her age, and still like to dabble all about (hence men’s vest) so I feel ya!
Really great post! And Hazel (great name btw) is such a confident and lovely teen! My kid has never wanted me to sew or knit for her – no, I’m not bitter, why do you ask?! 🙂 What I will say is that I have enough of a challenge fitting my own body and my kid’s is entirely different than mine. So maybe it’s a good thing that I continue to improve at fitting so that, by the time she can appreciate what an awesome thing it is to have a mum that wants to make her gifts, the things I make will fit her well.
Thank you! Hazel is a family name – of the last 4 generations, I’m the only one it skipped. 🙁 And you’re right – fitting others…there’s only so much reward there, right? This last round was a Trojan Horse to get her to sew 😀 I made her do a lot of it.
I’m in the opposite boat, my 14 year old is has a tiny waist and wide shoulders, very Y shaped from 5 years of flying trapeze. And she is mostly legs. And busty enough to needs darts. I can do skirts and tees but dresses or anything else are a struggle. She does not wear pants, the only possibility is leggings. Woman’s 4 is too tight in the shoulders but wide at waist. I miss the days when I could sew a wool coat for her with confidence!
I have really wide shoulders/narrow hips and I find Seamwork patterns work really well for me. I blend sizes between the bodice and skirts (8-10 bust/6-8 waist/2-4 hips). I have one pattern I should adjust for a broad back, but I find them to be drafted pretty well for my wide, square shoulders and C sewing cup size.
Hazel’s outfits are awesome and it’s great to see such a confident teen! So far my 12 year old has let me make her a hoodie (Hey June Brunswick Pullover) and pajamas. She’s in that self-conscious phase where I think she’d wear anything that would let her blend in with the wall. But I do hope to sew more for her and this is helpful.
Oh, pictures are just pictures. She has her low self esteem bits and teenage snufus too. Parenting teens is so hard. They’re almost adult age…it’s like some invisible time limit. I have a 25 year old… and you’d think I’d be ok because I know what’s on the other side, but I have 4 kids total, and the only thing I know for a fact is that I have no clue. <3
Thank you for giving some insight on this topic! Our eldest is now 9, already her sense of style is changing and in a couple of years her body as well. So these articles will surely come in handy!!!!
Aw, thank you! And welcome to the tween ride! It’s like toddlers, but more expensive. Lol.
I have problems with my 12yo too, she’s too big for children’s now, I usually use women’s patterns now and shorten them. I usually have to raise the neckline as she is very conscious of not showing her chest at all. I am making a dress for Xmas and I need to blend sizes, shorten and do a sba. I am hoping it all comes out well but I will be doing a toile of the bodice first. She is also several sizes bigger on her waist than hips and bust and broader than me but she is happy to steal some of my clothes now.
Soon you’ll blink and it will all change again!
As long as its not until she enjoys this dress 🙂
I feel like my girls skipped the tween stage. I had gathered several patterns they liked, often vintage, in that awkward in-between size range… but none of them got used. I blinked and suddenly my tubular little girls were curvy mini-women. I remember specifically one dress for my the -twelve-year old, carefully planning a small bust adjustment, only to realize that the full-size dart was just right. It kind of clarified (for us at least) why this size/age range is so under-served.
Hahaha. Murphy’s Law. You were so prepared!!
I guess so! Maybe I’ll get to use them now my nieces are entering that zone…
Two pattern thoughts have popped into my head as I read this post: Oliver + S have the Girl on the Go Dress/Top pattern, which is specifically for the female tween demographic, and Burda’s Young range has a good selection of patterns that would suit teens, although I think the sizing is the same as their standard women’s range. I guess the other resource would be petite ranges – although they’re aimed at adult female figures, at least you wouldn’t have to spend so long shortening everything.
Trine Schroeder of Groovy baby and mama does some really good t(w)een sewing!
And I think the Named patterns are also drafted for a less curvy body type, so if you have a teen girl who has already had her growth spurt length wise but less so curve wise I think they are a good bet!
Seeing teenagers express themselves with confidence through their clothing is such a gift! My now 17 year old has always had a strong sense of who she is and what she will wear. Having a Mum who sews has helped her identify what she likes to wear and how, but almost all projects I have made specifically for her have been a disaster. What works for us is I make stuff for myself (we are a similar shape), put them in my wardrobe, and then she gets them out of my wardrobe and wears it!!! This worked when she was smaller as well ,when she liked more oversized clothing. She has resisted learning to sew, but chooses to create through art, and has successfully knitted a couple of scarves, and has plans to knit her Dad a beanie for Christmas!
I was interested in this article as I buy 152cm/158cm commercial clothes for me, pre-teen boys jeans are a good fit. I am a 5’2″ / 155cm petite adult and my daughter is equally small, I have similar issues to many tweens with broad, square shoulders, lack of differential between my waist and hips (34.5″/87cm). I also have a 32E bust (US 32F) and a 30″ inside leg. (That 34.5″ hip puts me at a size 2, but my waist is much wider)
I have given up on adult patterns as they do not fit across the shoulders, back or high bust, and have found using boys’ 152cm, 158cm or 164cm (roughly 11-12-13-14) patterns work with a bust adjustment, as that way I start with something that fits my back and shoulders, and has the right proportions for my torso. I agree that there is an issue so little is available in tween patterns; most children’s patterns end at 146cm, because this is also an issue for petites.
I have found that Burda very occasionally include children’s patterns in 152cm or above, but currently my main source of patterns is Ottobre, which has patterns for both boys and girls to 170cm in most editions. My most recent makes (a skirt and a pair of cropped jeans) were a delight as I didn’t have to change anything.
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